Oscar Sharp is Directing a Movie About the Attempted De-Extinction of the Woolly Mammoth

Did you enjoy Jurassic Park, but wished it was grounded in something a little more....realistic? Do you like your big screen iterations of ancient beasts to be more reflective of how their real-life counterparts actually looked? Well, we've got good news, because Fox is making a movie based on the very real efforts to bring the Woolly Mammoth back from extinction.

The movie, simply dubbed 'Woolly', will be based on Ben Mezrich's Woolly: The True Story of the De-Extinction of One of History's Most Iconic Creatures, which charts the true story of a geneticist who recently teamed up with Harvard Scientists in an effort to repopulate a large portion of Siberia with its early inhabitants. Just last year, the team successfully fused Mammoth DNA with that of an Elephant, marking the first time in over 3000 years that Woolly Mammoth cells had existed in a 'live' state. The team's research is still ongoing, and many see it as a potential key to countering the extinction of other animals that are being wiped out through various human activities, such as poaching and deforestation.

Mezrich's book isn't released until next year, but thanks to his track record of writing the books that inspired the likes of The Social Network and 21, Fox has partnered with Temple Hill to snap up the rights and get an adaptation in the works. That particular deal was only announced this week, but the studio has wasted no time in securing the services of the up and coming director, Oscar Sharp.

Until now, Sharp has dealt mainly with directing short films, but one of those shorts highlighted his huge potential more than others. Released back in 2014, The Kármán Line starred Olivia Coleman (Broadchurch, Peep Show) as a Woman who is hit with a strange condition that sees her unable to move as she is ever so slowly lifted off the ground. As she and her family try to cope with the strange condition, experts suggest that unless they find a cure, she will eventually reach the line between Earth's atmosphere and space (the Kármán line). It's a premise that's exactly as strange as it sounds, but I thoroughly recommend you take 25 minutes out of your day to watch it below.

As for Woolly, it remains to be seen how close it stays to the real life events, but you can be sure that it will be a damn sight more realistic than anything happening on Isla Nubla.